Religious participation is associated with fewer dementia diagnoses among Black people in the United States.

INTRODUCTION: Black people had the highest prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) of any racial/ethnic group in the United States (US) as of 2020. As racial disparities in the prevalence of ADRD are being investigated, more evidence is necessary to determine the pathways and mechanisms that either slow ADRD progression or improve quality of life for those affected. Religion/spirituality (R/S) has been shown to affect health outcomes but has rarely been studied as a possible pathway for reducing ADRD risk. Crucially, Black people also report higher levels of R/S than other racial/ethnic groups in the United States. This research asks if R/S affects ADRD risk among Black adults and if any effects persist after controlling for hypertension. METHODS: We conducted a secondary data analysis drawing from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative longitudinal dataset with an oversampling of Black adults. RESULTS: We used logistic regression analysis to demonstrate how R/S has an ameliorating impact on ADRD risk among Black people, even after controlling for hypertension. Those who never attended religious services had 2.37 higher odds of being diagnosed with ADRD than those who attended more than once a week. Further, as R/S attendance increased, ADRD risk decreased linearly. CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrate the importance that existing cultural networks (e.g., R/S) can have for reducing ADRD burden for Black people and has important implications for the role of R/S in shaping ADRD symptomatology.

Scalable Strategies to Increase Efficiency and Augment Public Health Activities During Epidemic Peaks.

OBJECTIVE: Scalable strategies to reduce the time burden and increase contact tracing efficiency are crucial during early waves and peaks of infectious transmission. DESIGN: We enrolled a cohort of SARS-CoV-2-positive seed cases into a peer recruitment study testing social network methodology and a novel electronic platform to increase contact tracing efficiency. SETTING: Index cases were recruited from an academic medical center and requested to recruit their local social contacts for enrollment and SARS-CoV-2 testing. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 509 adult participants enrolled over 19 months (384 seed cases and 125 social peers). INTERVENTION: Participants completed a survey and were then eligible to recruit their social contacts with unique "coupons" for enrollment. Peer participants were eligible for SARS-CoV-2 and respiratory pathogen screening. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The main outcome measures were the percentage of tests administered through the study that identified new SARS-CoV-2 cases, the feasibility of deploying the platform and the peer recruitment strategy, the perceived acceptability of the platform and the peer recruitment strategy, and the scalability of both during pandemic peaks. RESULTS: After development and deployment, few human resources were needed to maintain the platform and enroll participants, regardless of peaks. Platform acceptability was high. Percent positivity tracked with other testing programs in the area. CONCLUSIONS: An electronic platform may be a suitable tool to augment public health contact tracing activities by allowing participants to select an online platform for contact tracing rather than sitting for an interview.

Depression in the African American Christian Community: Examining Denominational and Gender Differences.

Depression among African American adults can diminish their daily functioning and quality of life. African American communities commonly uses religion and spirituality (R/S) to cope with life stressors; however, it is unclear whether R/S contribute to mental health risk or resilience. Since men and women differ in their R/S participation and Christian denominations have varying gender roles and expectations, it is critical to determine if they experience similar mental health effects. This study examines whether self-reported denominational affiliation predicts dissimilar odds of reporting elevated depressive symptoms among African American young adults and if these effects are different for women and men, using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). Results indicate that the odds of having elevated depressive symptoms are three times higher for Catholic women compared to Baptist women, but no denominational differences were found among men. This study highlights how unique denominational and gender subcultures within African American Christian communities may predict depression outcomes. Healthcare professionals and church-based outreach programs should consider the role of denomination and gender when designing and participating in efforts to support mental health equity.

Investigating Denominational and Church Attendance Differences in Obesity and Diabetes in Black Christian Men and Women.

Prior investigations of the relationships between religious denomination and diabetes and obesity do not consider the nuance within black faith traditions. This study used data from the National Survey of American Life (n = 4344) to identify denominational and religious attendance differences in obesity and diabetes among black Christian men and women. Key findings indicated that black Catholics and Presbyterians had lower odds of diabetes than Baptists. Black men that attended church almost daily were nearly twice as likely to be obese than those that never attend services. These results indicate that denomination and gender should inform faith-based and placed health promotion approaches.

Homophily and social mixing in a small community: Implications for infectious disease transmission.

Community mixing patterns by sociodemographic traits can inform the risk of epidemic spread among groups, and the balance of in- and out-group mixing affects epidemic potential. Understanding mixing patterns can provide insight about potential transmission pathways throughout a community. We used a snowball sampling design to enroll people recently diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 in an ethnically and racially diverse county and asked them to describe their close contacts and recruit some contacts to enroll in the study. We constructed egocentric networks of the participants and their contacts and assessed age-mixing, ethnic/racial homophily, and gender homophily. The total size of the egocentric networks was 2,544 people (n = 384 index cases + n = 2,160 recruited peers or other contacts). We observed high rates of in-group mixing among ethnic/racial groups compared to the ethnic/racial proportions of the background population. Black or African-American respondents interacted with a wider range of ages than other ethnic/racial groups, largely due to familial relationships. The egocentric networks of non-binary contacts had little age diversity. Black or African-American respondents in particular reported mixing with older or younger family members, which could increase the risk of transmission to vulnerable age groups. Understanding community mixing patterns can inform infectious disease risk, support analyses to predict epidemic size, or be used to design campaigns such as vaccination strategies so that community members who have vulnerable contacts are prioritized.

The PhenX Toolkit: Recommended Measurement Protocols for Social Determinants of Health Research.

Health disparities are driven by unequal conditions in the environments in which people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age, commonly termed the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH). The availability of recommended measurement protocols for SDoH will enable investigators to consistently collect data for SDoH constructs. The PhenX (consensus measures for Phenotypes and eXposures) Toolkit is a web-based catalog of recommended measurement protocols for use in research studies with human participants. Using standard protocols from the PhenX Toolkit makes it easier to compare and combine studies, potentially increasing the impact of individual studies, and aids in comparability across literature. In 2018, the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities provided support for an initial expert Working Group to identify and recommend established SDoH protocols for inclusion in the PhenX Toolkit. In 2022, a second expert Working Group was convened to build on the work of the first SDoH Working Group and address gaps in the SDoH Toolkit Collections. The SDoH Collections consist of a Core Collection and Individual and Structural Specialty Collections. This article describes a Basic Protocol for using the PhenX Toolkit to select and implement SDoH measurement protocols for use in research studies. © 2024 The Authors. Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. This article has been contributed to by U.S. Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA. Basic Protocol: Using the PhenX Toolkit to select and implement SDoH protocols.

Contraceptive Access and Use Among Undergraduate and Graduate Students During COVID-19: Online Survey Study.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic led to widespread college campus closures in the months of March to June 2020, endangering students' access to on-campus health resources, including reproductive health services. OBJECTIVE: To assess contraceptive access and use among undergraduate and graduate students in North Carolina during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional web-based survey of undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at degree-granting institutions in North Carolina. Participants were recruited using targeted Instagram advertisements. The survey queried several aspects of participants' sexual behavior, including sex drive, level of sexual experience, number of sexual partners, digital sexual experience, dating patterns, and types of contraception used. Participants were asked to compare many of these behaviors before and after the pandemic. The survey also assessed several sociodemographic factors that we hypothesized would be associated with contraceptive use based on prior data, including educational background, sexual orientation and gender minority status (ie, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer), health insurance status, race, ethnicity, degree of sensation seeking, religiosity, and desire to become pregnant. RESULTS: Over 10 days, 2035 Instagram users began our survey, of whom 1002 met eligibility criteria. Of these 1002 eligible participants, 934 completed the survey, for a 93% completion rate. Our respondents were mostly female (665/934, 71%), cisgender (877/934, 94%), heterosexual (592/934, 64%), white (695/934 75%), not Hispanic (835/934, 89%), and enrolled at a 4-year college (618/934, 66%). Over 95% (895/934) of respondents reported that they maintained access to their preferred contraception during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a multivariable analysis, participants who were enrolled in a 4-year college or graduate program were less likely to lose contraceptive access when compared to participants enrolled in a 2-year college (risk ratio [RR] 0.34, 95% CI 0.16-0.71); in addition, when compared to cisgender participants, nonbinary and transgender participants were more likely to lose contraceptive access (RR 2.43, 95% CI 1.01-5.87). Respondents reported that they were more interested in using telehealth to access contraception during the pandemic. The contraceptive methods most commonly used by our participants were, in order, condoms (331/934, 35.4%), oral contraception (303/934, 32.4%), and long-acting reversible contraception (LARC; 221/934, 23.7%). The rate of LARC use among our participants was higher than the national average for this age group (14%). Emergency contraception was uncommonly used (25/934, 2.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Undergraduate and graduate students in North Carolina overwhelmingly reported that they maintained access to their preferred contraceptive methods during the COVID-19 pandemic and through changing patterns of health care access, including telehealth. Gender nonbinary and transgender students and 2-year college students may have been at greater risk of losing access to contraception during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reported changes in romantic and sexual behavior among college and graduate students during COVID-19.

Objective: To understand changes in romantic and sexual behavior among college and graduate students in North Carolina during COVID-19. Participants: Participants were between 18-30 years old and enrolled in a two- or four-year college or graduate program in North Carolina (n = 926). Methods: A cross-sectional web-based survey was administered to college and graduate students to assess romantic and sexual behavioral changes during COVID-19. Results: Participants continued to engage in in-person sexual intercourse during COVID-19 and reported an increase in online and virtual dating. Although the majority of participants reported following COVID-19 guidelines, they did not frequently use risk mitigation strategies such as declining kissing or sex due to COVID-19 concerns, inquiring about recent COVID-19 tests, or having sexual contact without kissing. Conclusion: Study findings suggest a need for colleges and universities to help students manage COVID-19 prevention in intimate relationships.

Residential Structural Racism and Prevalence of Chronic Health Conditions.

Importance: Studies elucidating determinants of residential neighborhood-level health inequities are needed. Objective: To quantify associations of structural racism indicators with neighborhood prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD), diabetes, and hypertension. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional study used public data (2012-2018) and deidentified electronic health records (2017-2018) to describe the burden of structural racism and the prevalence of CKD, diabetes, and hypertension in 150 residential neighborhoods in Durham County, North Carolina, from US census block groups and quantified their associations using bayesian models accounting for spatial correlations and residents' age. Data were analyzed from January 2021 to May 2023. Exposures: Global (neighborhood percentage of White residents, economic-racial segregation, and area deprivation) and discrete (neighborhood child care centers, bus stops, tree cover, reported violent crime, impervious areas, evictions, election participation, income, poverty, education, unemployment, health insurance coverage, and police shootings) indicators of structural racism. Main Outcomes and Measures: Outcomes of interest were neighborhood prevalence of CKD, diabetes, and hypertension. Results: A total of 150 neighborhoods with a median (IQR) of 1708 (1109-2489) residents; median (IQR) of 2% (0%-6%) Asian residents, 30% (16%-56%) Black residents, 10% (4%-20%) Hispanic or Latino residents, 0% (0%-1%) Indigenous residents, and 44% (18%-70%) White residents; and median (IQR) residential income of $54 531 ($37 729.25-$78 895.25) were included in analyses. In models evaluating global indicators, greater burden of structural racism was associated with greater prevalence of CKD, diabetes, and hypertension (eg, per 1-SD decrease in neighborhood White population percentage: CKD prevalence ratio [PR], 1.27; 95% highest density interval [HDI], 1.18-1.35; diabetes PR, 1.43; 95% HDI, 1.37-1.52; hypertension PR, 1.19; 95% HDI, 1.14-1.25). Similarly in models evaluating discrete indicators, greater burden of structural racism was associated with greater neighborhood prevalence of CKD, diabetes, and hypertension (eg, per 1-SD increase in reported violent crime: CKD PR, 1.15; 95% HDI, 1.07-1.23; diabetes PR, 1.20; 95% HDI, 1.13-1.28; hypertension PR, 1.08; 95% HDI, 1.02-1.14). Conclusions and Relevance: This cross-sectional study found several global and discrete structural racism indicators associated with increased prevalence of health conditions in residential neighborhoods. Although inferences from this cross-sectional and ecological study warrant caution, they may help guide the development of future community health interventions.

Responding to Health Disparities in Behavioral Weight Loss Interventions and COVID-19 in Black Adults: Recommendations for Health Equity.

COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted Black adults with high prevalence and mortality rates. Obesity is a central factor in the severity of COVID-19 and related treatment. Behavioral weight loss interventions are an efficacious treatment for obesity, but consistently, Black men and women are minimally represented, and weight loss outcomes are less than clinically significant thresholds. This commentary draws parallels between COVID-19 racial disparities, disparate obesity rates, weight loss treatment outcomes, and underlying systemic racial context. This paper also indicates paths forward to address racialized societal norms in obesity treatment to advance health equity in obesity and reduce acute disease vulnerability. Recommendations for behavioral medicine practice and policy include (1) expanding the research lens to prioritize Black scholars and institutions to generate innovative research questions, (2) creating trustworthy relationships with Black community members to bolster recruitment and retention, (3) employing qualitative methods to facilitate better intervention design and uncover influences of racialized social context, (4) centering Black adults in weight loss interventions, and (5) using multilevel approaches that integrate policy into interventions. Moving forward, this commentary aims to make plain the multilayered form and function of racism, its impact on COVID-19 and obesity, and offer pathways to improve behavioral weight loss interventions that can produce more equitable outcomes.

Telemedicine services in higher education: a review of college and university websites.

OBJECTIVES: To identify rates of telemedicine provision during the COVID-19 pandemic and predictive institutional factors among 4-year and graduate colleges and universities. PARTICIPANTS: The study (n = 364) included the websites (.edu) of accredited public nonprofit, private nonprofit, and private for-profit institutions of higher education in the United States that award bachelors, masters, or doctoral degrees. METHODS: Using digital content analysis, human coders analyzed institution websites for informational text indicating student telemedicine services. RESULTS: Findings indicate that a minority of 4-year and above institutions offer telemedicine access. Institution type, institution size, and the presence of campus student health services were predictive. Endowment size and Minority Serving Institution status were not predictive. CONCLUSION: This study illustrates the ongoing need for increased access to remote health services across higher education, especially among smaller private and public nonprofit colleges and universities and all private for-profit institutions.

Shades of Black: Gendered Denominational Variation in Depression Symptoms Among Black Christians.

Religion and spirituality (R/S) play a central role in shaping the contextual experiences of many Black people in the United States. Blacks are among the most religiously engaged groups in the country. Levels and types of religious engagement, however, can vary by subcategories such as gender or denominational affiliation. Although R/S involvement has been linked to improved mental health outcomes for Black people in general, it is unclear whether these benefits extend to all Black people who claim R/S affiliation irrespective of denomination and gender. Data from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL) sought to determine whether there are differences in the odds of reporting elevated depressive symptomology among African American and Black Caribbean Christian adults across denominational affiliation and gender. Initial logistic regression analysis found similar odds of elevated depressive symptoms across gender and denominational affiliation, but further analysis revealed the presence of a denomination by gender interaction. Specifically, there was a significantly larger gender gap in the odds of reporting elevated depression symptoms for Methodists than for Baptists and Catholics. In addition, Presbyterian women had lower odds of reporting elevated symptoms than Methodist women. This study's findings highlight the importance of examining denominational disparities among Black Christians, and suggest that denomination and gender may work in tandem to shape the R/S experiences and mental health outcomes of Black people in the United States.

The 5Ws of Racial Equity in Research: A Framework for Applying a Racial Equity Lens Throughout the Research Process.

Ensuring equity in research is a critical step in advancing health equity. In this perspective, the authors introduce a guiding framework for advancing racial equity in research processes, environments, and among the research workforce, the 5Ws of Racial Equity in Research. Centering their discussion on the 5Ws: Who, What, When, Where, and Why, they use historical and contemporary examples of research inequities to demonstrate how these five simple questions can encourage open discussion and proactive planning for equity in research. They close with an acknowledgment of the framework's broad utility and a researcher-directed call to action.

Denominational and Gender Differences in Hypertension Among African American Christian Young Adults.

Hypertension, a major cardiovascular disease risk factor, is disproportionately prevalent among African American young adults. Religion and spirituality (R/S) have been studied for their potential effect on blood pressure (BP) outcomes. Despite their disproportionate hypertension risk and high levels of R/S engagement, limited research explores BP differences among religious African Americans. This study investigates whether denominational affiliation predicts within-group differences in odds of having hypertension among African American Christian young adults. Data from Wave IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) were used to examine hypertension differences between 1932 African American young adults based on self-reported religious denomination. Gender-separated logistic regressions included religious service attendance and coping measures, as well as personal characteristics and health behaviors to adjust for potential effects on BP. The odds of having hypertension were higher for Pentecostal women compared to Baptist and Catholic women. Hypertension odds for women who reported attending services more than once weekly were lower than those who never attended church. For women, frequent use of religious coping predicted higher odds of having hypertension than seldom or never using religious coping. R/S variables did not predict significant differences among men. The health benefits of R/S do not appear to be consistent within African American Christian young adults. Religion may be viewed as a source of BP risk and resilience, especially among African American young women.

Teaching Scared: Pre-Service Teacher Appraisals of Racial Stress, Socialization and Classroom Management Self-Efficacy.

The fears of pre-service teachers, particularly Teach for America (TFA) teachers. about working in urban classroom settings are framed as racial stress. Racial stress is the threat of well-being when one is unprepared to negotiate a race-related interpersonal encounter. Currently, there exist no measures on racial stress, socialization, and coping for teachers of African American and Latino students. Findings reveal that newly developed and reliable measures of teacher appraisal of racial/ethnic stressful interactions, socialization and coping are related to classroom management self-efficacy and school collegial racial conversations. These findings have implications for racial stress management as key to developing high quality teacher-student relationships.